ORU Doctoral Candidate Making a Difference
She may be busy seeking her doctorate in education at Oral Roberts University but
that’s not stopping Khumi Massey from making a difference in the lives of students
in India.
Massey, an ORU Ed.D. candidate who is working on her dissertation, is running a Christian school in Manipur, India for the orphans of war and students from different faith backgrounds.
“We began as a children's home in 2000 to take care of children who had lost their parents in an ethnic tribal war between 1997-1998 in Manipur, India,” says Massey. “While providing for the physical, emotional & spiritual needs of our children we began to see the need to provide education in order to empower their lives.”
In 2007, Massey’s parents and friends in the United States donated money to purchase a small piece of land next to the children’s home to build the school. A year later, Lee Faith School opened and welcomed 250 students from pre-school to 8th grade. Nine years later, the school has more than 60 staff members and 1,500 students from all over Manipur, ranging from pre-school to 10th grade. Most of the children come from Hindu backgrounds but because Lee Faith is a private Christian school, Massey and the staff are able to share about God freely.
“Everything about the school has been an amazing journey of miracles,” says Massey. “Every opportunity I get, I remind our students and staff that God is the foundation of our school and with that in mind that is how we run the school.”
Massey has taken the things she has learned at ORU to Manipur and has been challenged by the leadership of her ORU professors in how she leads Lee Faith School.
“They have taught me so much from the way they teach, their generosity with their
time to help with any problems, their genuine suppo
rts and encouragement to see their students succeed, and most of all, the way they
have modeled servant leadership,” said Manipur. “When I’m at my school in Manipur,
the more I put on the role of a ‘servant leader’, the more time I spend in prayer
and I know that God is able to use me to impact our staff and students.”
Massey is grateful for ORU and for God’s faithfulness. She says the school has grown past expectations and they look forward to one day adding a high school and an auditorium where they can spend time in worship.